City Dressing (Day)
1. A baby can be heard crying from an apartment
window nearby.
2. A bald man is talking on his phone, ordering flowers
for someone.
3. A beautiful girl, dressed to the nines, talking on her
cell phone.
4. A beautiful model passes on the street clutching her
portfolio, chatting on her cellphone.
5. A bicyclist riding along a street flies over the suddenly
opened door of a parked car.
6. A bomb scare on the subway closes all the stations,
the traffic is backed up, scores of people are walking
home, and there's police and emergency vehicles
everywhere.
7. A bunch of guys are carrying things into and out of a
good sized truck into a building.
8. A bunch of homeless people are huddling under the
same overhang.
9. A bunch of kids are playing stick ball in the street in a
lightly travelled area.*
10. A businesswoman's briefcase opens suddenly,
spilling papers everywhere.
11. A cab backs up two blocks because he missed the
fare's destination.
12. A car hits a nearby puddle – splash!
13. A car is cut off by a motorized 12-speed delivering
take-out food.
14. A car is wrapped in police tape.
15. A car pulls out of a side street and narrowly misses a
cyclist.
16. A cat in a window watches pedestrians
disinterestedly as they walk past.
17. A chess match*
18. A Chinese woman is yelling at her husband in her
native language.
19. A clearly lost man trying to hold a very large map
out in front of him is asking for help. He doesn't speak
the local language at all but repeats the name of the
place he is looking for over and over while gesturing at
the map.
20. A commercial plane flies overhead with a distant
roar of engines.
21. A famous band is shooting a video on the street,
causing a commotion. The crowd is blocking progress.*
22. A fast-talking man runs a game of three-card
monty.*
23. A few sun-bleached papers blow by
24. A film crew shooting a movie.*
25. A fire-truck on route to a fire, sirens blazing.
26. A flustered woman drops her shopping.
27. A frail looking woman starts to pant for air. She is
visibly shaken, if asked tries to conceal her state. She
holds a hand to her heart and becomes pale. A heart
condition or a panic attack ?
28. A garage sale is going on. A lot of the inventory has
been sold.*
29. A garbage truck is collecting trash from dumpsters.
30. A girl offers flyers for a big club night with discount
entry.*
31. A girl trips slightly as she steps out of a car.
32. A group of cyclists, the participants of a race, block
the street for a few minutes.*
33. A group of four urban youths stride towards
pedestrians. They look like they have no intention of
stepping aside or even making gaps to pass through.
34. A group of girls are giggling at something on one of
their phones.
35. A group of people are training for a marathon.
36. A gust of wind blows a newspaper page across the
street.
37. A guy and a girl are discussing a new movie.
38. A guy breaking into a car with a coat hanger. The
car's alarms are blaring and people are just walking by,
ignoring the whole thing.
39. A guy cycling past spits his gum down a drain.
40. A guy leans out of his car window and shouts
obscenities at the car in front.
41. A guy steps in dog poo.
42. A heavily built man with a short scraggly beard is
singing along to the music he is listening to in his
headphones.
43. A homeless guy with a cardboard sign is standing at
the intersection.
44. A hot dog vending cart rolls by. The proprietor is
singing (quite well) as he strolls by.*
45. A jogger passes by.
46. A jogger stops to re-tie their shoe.
47. A juggler performing on the street.*
48. A loud break-up taking place, as an angry woman in
her apartment shouts at her ex on the sidewalk, while
throwing the man's possessions out the window,
several stories to the ground.
49. A man and a woman, dressed to impress, pass by,
deep in conversation.
50. A man and woman are chatting while a baby in a
stroller is getting worked up and about to start bawling.
51. A man gets in a taxi and coins fall out of his trouser
pocket and spill across the road.
52. A man hands out pamphlets explaining how the
Bible anticipated modern scientific discoveries.*
53. A man in a suit runs after the bus he has just missed.
54. A man is calling to passerby’s, trying to sell them
something.
55. A man is furiously looking through papers trying to
find something.
56. A man is whistling a tune you don't recognize.
57. A man is yelling into his cellphone, pacing around in
anger.
58. A man stumbles as his foot catches on an uneven bit
of the ground.
59. A man trying to sell pedestrians an array of items on
the street.
60. A man walking his dog.
61. A man with a black fedora, smoking a cigar tips his
hat at a passerby.
62. A man with dark glasses, seemingly blind, plays the
accordion with some skill next to a storefront. He
graciously thanks anyone who places coins into his cup,
and seems not to notice bills.*
63. A meter-maid is giving someone's car a ticket.
64. A mime is preforming on the sidewalk.*
65. A model spotter for one of the big agencies is
stopping girls and asking if they ever considered
modelling. They want to take a polaroid and phone
number.*
66. A number of cabbies congregate on a side street not
too far from a few blocks of clubs, bars, and
restaurants.
67. A pack of guys in suits pour out of a bar.
68. A panting person blows past at a dead run.
69. A particularly loud and irate protest group outside
the place they are protesting (abortion clinic,
courthouse, city hall, corporate HQ, etc.). Things are
starting to get ugly, but there's no violence... yet.*
70. A pedestrian and a bicycle messenger in an
argument.
71. A Phone Company Truck is blocking off traffic and
setting up to go down a manhole cover.
72. A photo shoot.*
73. A police officer oblivious to their surroundings is
indulging in food from a street vendor.
74. A police tactical team is pouring out of their vans. A
few other officers seem to be getting out barriers and
things from their car.
75. A policeman having a double-parked car towed,
while pedestrians watch approvingly.
76. A political candidate and entourage sweep through
the street shaking hands and asking who people are
going to vote for. *
77. A postman lifts out a bag of mail and sets it on the
ground, turning back to his van for a second.
78. A pregnant woman is yelling at her sister.
79. A psychic wants customers to enter their shop.
80. A reporter is taking pictures of a newly opened
building.
81. A residential street is blocked off by yellow tape and
barriers, setting up for a block party. *
82. A shopkeeper is putting a sign outside his shop and
pulls a muscle in his back.
83. A short woman is trying to walk 6 dogs at once but is
barely managing to stay on her feet.
84. A somewhat lanky kid takes a tumble from his
skateboard in front of oncoming traffic.*
85. A street concert can be heard from several blocks
away. *
86. A street preacher is loudly making a public sermon
on a soapbox.*
87. A student driver accidently jumps the curb.
88. A surveyor with a clipboard attempts to engage
passerby’s.*
89. A teenager is throwing water balloons out a
window.*
90. A telephone engineer up a pole has a small coughing
fit.*
91. A Telephone repair guy is climbing up a telephone
pole to repair something.* .
92. A ten-year-old girl plays the violin, and rather well.*
93. A tractor trailer (a vehicle not designed for the
narrow city streets) slowly makes a wide turn around a
very sharp corner. When most of the way around the
driver realizes he has squeezed his truck the wrong way
in to a one way street. With his truck blocking the entire
junction and busy city traffic blocked in all around him
this is going to take a while to sort out. Motorists are
not pleased and not shy about letting him know.
94. A truck is delivering a vending machine to a
restaurant. There seems to be some kind argument
about it.
95. A truck with a police escort drives by. You see a
nuclear warning/ biohazard symbol on the truck.
96. A TV crew is setting up a "live on the street shot".
97. A unit of recruits/police academy cadets on their
daily run
98. A utility truck is blocking a lane of traffic. Traffic is
getting backed up.
99. A van and a car stop at a red light. When the light
turns green, the van doesn't start to move immediately,
and the car behind starts to honk.
100. A van is being towed.
101. A wealthy man steps out of a limo and goes into a
restaurant.
102. A well-known advert can be heard playing from a
radio.
103. A woman busy talking on her phone takes a sip of
coffee and burns her tongue.
104. A woman carrying a stack of books trips and falls,
scattering them everywhere.
105. A woman is beating the dust out of her runners in
an upper floor window.*
106. A young boy walks up the street throwing a ball
straight up high and catching it, not watching where he
is going.*
107. A young couple ask someone to take their photo
by a landmark.*
108. Amorous teens making out.
109. An "indie" looking twenty- something hands out
flyers for an "underground" party.
110. An ambulance with its sirens on races by.
111. An artist is hawking paintings from has parked
van.*
112. An artist is making a chalk drawing of a forced
perspective picture taking up most of the sidewalk. *
113. An elementary school kid, pushing a bike with two
flat tires. He has a gash on his forehead which is still
bleeding. His pants are torn, as is one of the two straps
on his backpack.
114. An impatient man slams a door, setting off a car
alarm.
115. An old Chinese man stands in the doorway to an
equally old looking shop.
116. An old homeless person of indeterminate sex
passes by pushing a shopping cart filled with random
junk, muttering.
117. An old man is checking his pocket watch.
118. An old woman is begging for change.
119. An old woman is having trouble parking.
120. Approaching lightning storm
121. Birds overhead*
122. Bored looking Buddhist monks wait for a bus.
123. Cat is stuck in a tree and mewls for help*
124. Children are playing hockey in the alleyway.*
125. Cloud passes in front of the sun/the clouds part
briefly and the sun peeks out.
126. Construction has taken over the road, a detour has
been erected.
127. Cop walking a beat
128. Crazy woman arguing with herself or imaginary
voices
129. Criminal in custody is loaded into a waiting police
car.
130. Drunken students driving around throwing eggs at
random people.*
131. Fashion-victim woman breaks her shoe and
stumbles into a commuter.
132. Firemen wrapping up hoses and gear. The building
behind them has water sliding down its front steps in a
slow dribble.
133. Foreigners arguing in their own language
134. Graffiti on building
135. Howling gust of wind
136. Kids playing game (hide’n’seek)*
137. Large flock of birds flies acrobatics, then darts
away*
138. Man gets down on one knee and proposes,
drawing a crowd and knotting traffic*
139. Members of a Biker gang ride by.
140. Messenger collides with a pedestrian and
numerous papers start blowing around
141. Mimes have infested the street and try to climb
invisible ropes in front of a clearly unamused audience.*
142. Mother looking for child
143. Movers are trying to raise a piano to a higher
floor.*
144. One person chasing another
145. Parent scolding child
146. Passing child drops ice cream, cries*
147. Passing Hare Krishnas offer flowers and say
"Gouranga. Be Happy"*
148. Plainclothes cops arrest a struggling teenager. No-
one reacts.
149. Political activists on parade beckon the people to
join*
150. Politician, speechifying from a soapbox, makes eye
contact with a crowd.*
151. Poor looking children are walking down the streets
with baseball bats and gloves.*
152. Shadow passes across the ground
153. Six or so rollerbladers come thundering down the
sidewalk doing trick and avoiding all the pedestrians. *
154. Skateboarders are doing tricks on private
property.*
155. Smell of baking/cooking
156. Smoke rises in distance
157. Some college kids are in a heated discussion about
religion sex and politics.
158. Some street theater performers put on a
performance. They encourage the audience to
participate in their interactive play.*
159. Some teenagers are smoking cigarettes.
160. Someone in a metal t-shirt is handing out fliers.
161. Someone is “Recognized” by a drunk
162. Someone just missed their bus, arriving winded at
the stop just as it pulls away.
163. Someone on the side of the road with a car that
needs a jump.
164. Someone shouts and signals for a taxi.
165. Someone's car broke down in the middle of the
street, people are honking.
166. Spoiled brat wants item
167. Street performer(s)*
168. Street preacher accosts pedestrians.*
169. Street vendor (food, drink, trinkets, etc.)*
170. Strong, young, healthy beggar asks for change.
171. Students are studying for a test, asking each-other
questions.*
172. Students are walking down the street, books in
hand.
173. Stumble on lover’s quarrel
174. Teenagers are loitering around a statue.
175. The birds are singing their songs.*
176. The bus stops and a passenger gets off.
177. The diplomatic limo of a foreign dignitary whisks
by, surrounded by a high speed police escort.
178. The mail man is facing down a dog. He has a mace
can.
179. The road is blocked by a parade. If you are creative
and daring, maybe they can briefly join the parade long
enough to be able to slip out on the other side.*
180. The stoplights face red in all directions. The horns
are blaring.
181. The weather suddenly changes.
182. There is a street blocked off for a street fair*
183. There is traffic gridlock as people try to get into or
out of the city.
184. Three men stand in silence outside a bus depot
smoking, watching people walk by.
185. Tour group passes by, taking pictures and
gesturing.*
186. Traffic backed up three blocks because two cops
are parked next to each other with their flashing lights
Events marked with a “*” are generally unsuitable for inclement weather. You may want to adapt them accordingly, or
check on the appropriate tables below.
Rain
1. The rainfall lessens. It may be letting up.
2. People bustle to and fro, trying to get out of the rain.
3. A man struggles with an umbrella, trying to get it
open.
4. A woman in high heels scampers with a folded
newspaper over her head as a makeshift umbrella.
5. A mother leads a child who is annoying her by trying
to splash in every puddle.
6. A dejected looking man walks bareheaded, oblivious
to the rain.
7. A man and woman stroll arm in arm, sharing an
umbrella.
8. A car slams on the brakes, trying to avoid rear ending
the vehicle in front of them.
9. A business man dances gingerly across the street,
trying to avoid puddles.
10. The rainfall gets heavier. Thunder rumbles, and a
flash of lightning illuminates the gloom.
on, just casually talking, and every passing car slows
down to see what's going on.
187. Two brothers are arguing loudly about their
grandfather.
188. Two cars in a fender bender off to the side of the
road.
189. Two cops are walking the beat.
190. Two guys in suits are bragging to each other about
what they did over the weekend.
191. Two small children run past wearing home-made
superhero masks/capes*
192. Two sweating men are carrying a sofa out of a
house and into a nearby rental truck.*
193. Unusually cool breeze
194. Wailing baby
195. Wind kicks up
196. Workmen are replacing a window.*
197. You can hear the clink of cutlery from inside a
restaurant.
198. You see a party in an art gallery. There are loads of
arty types and cool characters hanging out drinking and
discussing the art.
199. You see young woman performing CPR on an
accident victim, she is sweating and asking the dozens
people standing around to make more room.
200. Young businessman passes by, trailed by unsavory
type.
Snow
1. The rate of snowfall lessens. Flakes drift downward
gently as the wind whips them up.
2. People hunch their shoulders and lower their heads
as the snow falls.
3. A shopkeeper shovels the sidewalk.
4. Children throw snowballs at each other.
5. A woman sips steaming hot chocolate.
6. Cars spin their tires, throwing up snow.
7. Pedestrians tread carefully, trying not to slip.
8. A man’s feet shoot out from under him. He lands
hard on the sidewalk.
9. An old man shoots a dirty look at the sky, muttering.
10. The rate of snowfall increases. Visibility is obscured
by a wall of white.